"A Dharma
Dog...Hold the Mustard"

Article by Peggy Brown BlackUtne Reader

Grazing, the latest term for the fast-food phenomenon of constant munching
instead of eating three squares a day, is another sign of fragmented American
society.

In the Boston Review (Dec. 1985), Sidney W. Mintz, an anthropology professor
at Johns Hopkins University, reflects on how food technologists have made food
ever more available and convenient, in many cases by increasing the amount
of sugar and salt it contains. Also, as eating has become something society
does constantly, it is more and more something done alone.

Mintz writes: "Meals that must be eaten by
everyone at the same time require advancement, postponement or cancellation
of competing events by the participants...social eating is precisely that:
social, involving communication, give and take, a search for consensus, some
common sense about individual needs, compromising through attending the needs
of others."

But if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? Vegetarian
Times (March 1985) reports that nutritious, vegetarian food is now available
in fast food form at McDharma's, a new chain founded by Santa Cruz, California,
entrepreneur Clark Heinrich. McDharma's customers can get vegetarian imitations
of their favorite foods, such as the Brahma Burger, the Big Monk or the Dharma
Dog. "...And,
although we have a full line of sugar-free desserts," Heinrich told the
interviewer, "we also have some quite popular desserts just loaded with
sugar. It makes people feel like, 'Hey, this is a regular restaurant.' "